Jean-Luc Mongrain Leaves 50-Year Media Legacy in Sherbrooke

A 50-year career in Canadian media ended when Jean-Luc Mongrain died at 75, according to La Voix de l’Est. The outlet said his journalism path began in Sherbrooke, where former colleagues and employers remembered a broadcaster who changed how news was delivered.

According to La Voix de l’Est, Mongrain first built his reputation in Sherbrooke before becoming a familiar presence to wider audiences. Bernard Fabi, former president of the Plathonic network and a former boss of Mongrain, said the journalist stood apart from conventional newsroom practices.

"Jean-Luc Mongrain did not get tangled up in niceties," recalled Bernard Fabi, former president of the Plathonic network and former boss.

Fabi said Mongrain broke with the usual way of presenting news and quickly found success. He pointed to the performance of Mongrain de sel, which he said drew unusually strong ratings from a program produced in Sherbrooke.

"He did not conform to the usual modus operandi for delivering the news. He was a trailblazer," said Bernard Fabi, former president of the Plathonic network and former boss.

Fabi said the program's reach extended beyond its local base. He said its audience was so large that a morning show made in Sherbrooke became the most listened-to one in Montreal.

"The ratings for Mongrain de sel were so strong that the most listened-to morning show in Montreal was Jean-Luc's show, a program produced in Sherbrooke. We became national," recalled Bernard Fabi, former president of the Plathonic network and former boss.

Fabi described Mongrain as a communicator with broad knowledge and strong values. He said Mongrain's central aim was to make complex issues understandable to the public.

"His mission was to speak to people, to be understood. He wanted to get to the bottom of things. And it worked. Even the strictest information purists could not deny his relevance," said Bernard Fabi, former president of the Plathonic network and former boss.

Fabi also said Mongrain's accessibility defined his public image. In his view, the journalist had a natural ability to express what audiences were thinking.

"He was looking for the truth. He delivered it in the simplest way possible. He said out loud what people were thinking quietly. He was a real Robin Hood," said Bernard Fabi, former president of the Plathonic network and former boss.

Fabi added that Mongrain was difficult to dismiss in interviews or public exchanges. He said the broadcaster could break through condescension from others.

"And if someone laughed at him or looked down on him, he always ended up piercing their armor," added Bernard Fabi, former president of the Plathonic network and former boss.

Fabi also pointed to one of Mongrain's memorable public interventions about school supply lists. He said that episode showed the broadcaster's instinct for everyday issues affecting families.

"Are you crazy? Why is that necessary? Do the people who make the lists have children?" recalled Bernard Fabi, former president of the Plathonic network and former boss.

Before television audiences came to know him at home, Mongrain spent four years, from 1982 to 1986, as a journalist and co-owner of the Sherbrooke weekly La Nouvelle, according to La Voix de l’Est. He shared that venture with Céline Maheu, Richard Gendron and Marie Dupont.

"Jean-Luc was a funny and likable character. He always managed to share his good humor," recalled Céline Maheu, former co-owner.

Maheu said Mongrain helped establish a new journalistic style through the way he spoke to audiences. She also said his death came suddenly.

"I think he started a journalistic trend with his way of doing things and his way of talking to people. He was easily close to people," said Céline Maheu, former co-owner.

La Voix de l’Est also reported that Mongrain left a mark on younger journalists. Josianne Lussier, a former colleague at TQS who worked with him for four years and is now a journalist at La Tribune, described him as demanding and unpredictable on air.

"He was intriguing, professional, demanding, and rigor was a watchword. But no one made Jean-Luc do what they wanted. We could spend long minutes planning a conversation setup for a live television segment, but what was certain was that once on air, nothing would hold. He would inevitably send you where you did not want to go," shared Josianne Lussier, former colleague and journalist at La Tribune.

Lussier said working with Mongrain could be intimidating for a young reporter. Even so, she said his approach as a broadcaster was unmatched.

"For a young journalist just starting out, the anxiety was there. How do I manage this beast and how do I prepare well, I often asked myself. But Jean-Luc had no equal," wrote Josianne Lussier, former colleague and journalist at La Tribune.

Lussier said Mongrain knew how to connect with viewers by focusing on issues that affected, angered or offended them. She said that ability helped him produce journalism that remained close to the public.

"Whether people liked him or not, he knew how to speak to viewers. He knew how to talk to them about things that affected them, angered them, offended them. He knew how to make good, real news close to the people," said Josianne Lussier, former colleague and journalist at La Tribune.